14 CFR § 5.3 - Definitions.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t14/s5.3"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "14 CFR § 5.3 - Definitions."
title_number: 14
title_name: "Aeronautics and Space"
section_number: "5.3"
section_name: "Definitions."
chapter_name: "FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION"
subchapter_number: "A"
subchapter_name: "DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL REQUIREMENTS"
part_number: "5"
part_name: "SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40101, 40113, 40119, 41706, 44101, 44701-44702, 44705, 44709-44711, 44713, 44716-44717, 44722, 46105; Sec. 102, Pub. L. 116-260, 134 Stat. 2309; Sec 215, Pub. L. 111-216, 124 Stat. 2366."
regulatory_source: "Doc. No. FAA-2009-0671, Amdt. 5-1, 80 FR 1326, Jan. 8, 2015, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "5"
---


# 5.3 Definitions.

*Hazard* means a condition or an object that could foreseeably cause or contribute to an incident or aircraft accident, as defined in 49 CFR 830.2.

*Risk* means the composite of predicted severity and likelihood of the potential effect of a hazard.

*Risk control* means a means to reduce or eliminate the effects of hazards.

*Safety assurance* means processes within the SMS that function systematically to ensure the performance and effectiveness of safety risk controls and that the organization meets or exceeds its safety objectives through the collection, analysis, and assessment of information.

*Safety Management System (SMS)* means the formal, top-down, organization-wide approach to managing safety risk and assuring the effectiveness of safety risk controls. It includes systematic procedures, practices, and policies for the management of safety risk.

*Safety objective* means a measurable goal or desirable outcome related to safety.

*Safety performance* means realized or actual safety accomplishment relative to the organization's safety objectives.

*Safety policy* means the person's documented commitment to safety, which defines its safety objectives and the accountabilities and responsibilities of its employees in regards to safety.

*Safety promotion* means a combination of training and communication of safety information to support the implementation and operation of an SMS in an organization.

*Safety Risk Management* means a process within the SMS composed of describing the system, identifying the hazards, and analyzing, assessing, and controlling risk.